Never Better
by TheNeatMonster
Summary: Dean and Sam head to Santa Barbara to check out a possible case about some "accidents" in the area.  Demon and Angel fight.  Whump and other fun things.  Terrible summary, but fun read.  Finished for now.
1. Chapter 1

"Sammy, whatcha got for me?" Dean said as he dropped a bag of food on the table of their motel room.

"Well, get this. There's this town in California that's been experiencing an increased number of random deaths, supposedly accidents. But, each accident has left the body so mangled, no one can tell if there are pieces missing or they're just not recognizable."

"You thinkin' wolf?"

Sam shakes his head, a little confused. "I don't know. Seems a little too…staged. Like whatever was doing this was trying to cover up the murder with another cause of death." He looked up at Dean. "Werewolves don't really have the capacity of thought beyond 'kill' and 'eat.'"

Dean nodded, throwing Sam his salad. "So, where we off to?" he asks, biting into a burger.

"Santa Barbara."

"O'hara, what's the situation?"

Juliet sighed, turning toward her partner. "Another accident. Guy was repairing his lawnmower and it fell on top of him."

Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Then, why am I here again?"

Juliet rolled her eyes back at him. "Oh, I don't know, Carlton, maybe this is the seventh 'accident' in less than a week and it seems a bit fishy, don't you think?"

Lassiter couldn't help but agree. Those numbers were pretty high. "Look, I get it. It's a bit of a strange coincidence, but when we investigate them, they always turn out to be just accidents. Accidents do happen," he said.

Juliet sighed. "Well, if you'd let Shawn help us with one of them…"

"The chief is out of town for the week and left me in charge. If I can take the opportunity to make my week Spencer-free, then—"

"Hey, Lassie!"

Lassiter groaned. "Why me?"

Shawn walked up with Gus, smiling widely. "Aw, Lassie, you don't look very happy to see me. Could it be you've been purposefully avoiding me while the chief is out of town?"

Lassiter turned on his heel toward Shawn. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Shawn stepped back, mock-scared. "Why, Lassie! I'm offended! I was just passing by with Gus to get a mango-pineapple smoothie, when we heard all the commotion over here."

Gus rolled his eyes. "Shawn, we're in the middle of nowhere. You made me follow Lassiter's car." He turned toward Lassiter with a sincerely apologetic look. "Which I was completely against in the first place."

"Gus, don't be a lost baby in a strip mall," Shawn said dismissively, earning a few very confused looks. He looked at the scene and his eyes widened slightly at the amount of carnage that lay there. He quickly turned back toward Gus. "Hey, buddy, you wanna go get us those smoothies while I look around here? I'll hitch a ride back with Jules and Lassie, ok?" he said, giving Gus the 'you don't want to see this' look. Gus took the hint, not wanting to subject his stomach to that scene and nodded quickly, leaving before the smell could get to him.

Shawn turned back toward the detectives and shrugged. "You know how Gus can be around bodies, especially when they look like a bowl of chili. Aw, man, now I'm not gonna eat chili for weeks," he said sadly.

Lassiter folded his arms across his chest. "And who were you getting a ride home with again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shawn huffed. "Come on, Lassie. I'll be quiet as a mouse. Although they're quite squeaky. How about a marshmallow? They're pretty quiet."

"Spencer!" Lassiter shouted to end the younger man's speech. "Fine, but if you so much as make a sound, I will tie you to the back of the car and drag you the rest of the way."

Shawn's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out if Lassiter was serious, but when Lassiter raised one eyebrow back at him, his eyes widened slightly and he put his hands up. "No problem, Lassaroo," he said, miming zipping his lips shut and locking them.

They surveyed the scene for a little while longer, coming up with just about nothing new. As they trudged back to the car, which was a good half a mile away because there was no way Lassiter was bringing his baby through this terrain, Shawn patted his pocket and sighing loudly.

"Aw, man! I dropped my phone back by the body," he sighed, dropping his head back dramatically.

Lassiter growled. "Well, go and get it, but if you're not back within 5 minutes, we are leaving without you and never looking back," he said through gritted teeth.

Juliet nudged him, giving him a stern look, before turning toward Shawn and mouthing 'run' and smiling.

Shawn saluted, giving Lassiter an, 'aye aye, Captain,' and taking off back into the woods. He made it back to the crime scene, eyes scanning quickly over the grass before catching the neon green casing in the corner of his eye. As he was moving toward it, he caught something else out of the corner of his eye. 'Huh,' he thought, 'storm clouds aren't normally that dark.'

Lassiter tapped his fingers angrily against his wheel, checking his mirrors to see if that over-grown child was coming back or not.

"That's it," he mumbled, starting the car.

"Carlton," Juliet admonished, but she was interrupted by the back door opening. "Oh, Shawn. Did you find your phone?"

Shawn smiled widely at Juliet, wiggling his phone about. "Found it in a jiff," he said.

Lassiter scoffed as he pulled out onto the highway. "Then what took you so damn long?"

Shawn looked out the window. "Car was far away," he said, smile still on his face.

Lassiter continued to grumble as Juliet rolled her eyes and looked back at Shawn through the rear view mirror. He wasn't texting or doing anything. He was silent, looking out the window. "You ok?" she questioned.

Shawn snapped his head back at her, before smirking. "Never better."


	2. Chapter 2

Lassiter dropped Shawn back off at the Psych office, the psychic waving them off with a smile. When the detectives returned to the police station, they were greeted by two men in suits.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" Lassiter said tightly.

The taller of the men extended his hand as the shorter one stated distinctly, "I'm Agent Axel, this is Agent Rose with the FBI. We just need to ask you a few questions."

Lassiter shook the hand extended to him, but his brow furrowed. "Badges?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. As they flashed them, he swiped them out of their hands. A devilish grin slowly spread across his face. "Oh, boys. You really made my day. And here I thought I wouldn't get to arrest anyone today," he said, showing the badges to Juliet, who frowned in turn.

'Agent Rose' turned to his brother and gave him a patented bitchface. "See Dean? I told you that was a stupid idea," he huffed.

Dean glared back at his brother. "Yeah, just about as smart as breaking into the fucking police station, Sammy," he mumbled.

Sam turned back to the detectives that already had handcuffs ready for them. "Look, just hear us out, ok? All we want to do is help," he said, hands held up in surrender.

Juliet and Lassiter looked at each other and scoffed. "And what could you possibly help us with? Other than being another lowlife for me to throw in jail."

Dean frowned. "Well, we heard you've been experiencing some accidents that have seemed…a little less accidental."

Juliet stared at him for a minute before saying, "Go on."

Before he could continue, Lassiter turned toward his partner. "O'hara! These are criminals who clearly have some mental problems if they thought a few phony badges and a second hand suit could get them information from the police. Why are you listening to them?"

Juliet crossed her arms and leveled a glare at Lassiter. "Because we have nothing to go on and these boys seem to know a thing or two, so instead of shooting first and asking questions later, I thought I'd get a question or two in before the shooting. Problem?" she finished with a cocked eyebrow.

Lassiter glared back, before relenting slightly. "Alright, but not here. Interrogation Room B. Now," he growled out, shuffling the two brothers into the police station.

Bursting into the interrogation room, Lassiter growled out a harsh "sit" to the boys, before sitting in his seat opposite them. Juliet sat next to him and just as Lassiter was about to speak, she chimed in. "Now, what do you know about these accidents and were you involved in anyway?"

Sam shook his head quickly. "No, no we aren't involved in it, but we deal with this kind of thing."

"Accidents?"

"Sorta. We kind of deal with the unexplained," he said, wincing at the choice of words.

Meanwhile, Dean leaned back and stared daringly at Lassiter, who glowered back at him in kind, neither speaking.

Juliet furrowed her brow. "What the hell does that mean?" she said skeptically.

Sam shook his head. "It doesn't really matter. All that matters is that we be allowed to do our job so that these "accidents" can stop," he said quickly.

Dean's eyes still had yet to leave Lassiter's, silently daring him to look away first. Lassiter held his ground firmly, never wavering. Juliet rolled her eyes.

"Carlton, come with me," she said, grabbing his arm.

Lassiter allowed himself to be dragged from the room, but still didn't break his eye contact with Dean. Just as the door was closing, Dean's lip quirked slightly and he winked at Lassiter, making the man even more furious.

"O'hara, did you see that?" he exclaimed as they got into the viewing room.

"Oh my god, Carlton, grow up," she said running a hand through her hair. She looked at Lassiter a little hesitantly. "Ok," she started, "I know what you're going to say, but hear me out." She took a deep breath. "I think we should have them help us," she said quickly, closing her mouth and looking at Lassiter.

"Oh no. No way. That is absolutely not happening! Did you forget they are guilty of fraud? Of impersonating federal agents? They're criminals, O'hara, and we can't just trust them because they seem to have won over your fragile heart," he said pacing with his hands on his hips.

Juliet scowled at him. "Excuse me?" she said menacingly, taking a step toward him. "You think I don't know how to do my job because I, what was your choice of words, have a fragile heart? Listen, Lassiter, and listen well. I am a good cop. I know when someone is lying through their teeth and when someone is just misunderstood. I don't let my prejudice toward some people interfere with my work, unlike some people I know. I take any and all precautions when dealing with a delicate situation, but I also know when to act like a human being, to see the view from all points of the conversation, not just my own. So, we are going to monitor these boys and keep them under 24-hour surveillance, but we are going to follow their lead, because we have absolutely no other option in this matter. Are we clear?"

She stepped back and took a breath, stance never wavering. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she felt like she could faint, but she was determined to prove her point to her superior.

Lassiter looked at her in a state of shock, fury, and awe. He blinked and stood up straight, hands clasping behind his back. He said nothing, but nodded slightly and extended his hand toward the door. Juliet blinked. She gave him a small, satisfied smile before turning on her heel to head back into the interrogation room and bargain with the brothers. Lassiter followed, but not before cracking a slight smile of his own at the overwhelming respect he felt for his partner. It soon dissipated, though, as he realized what he had just signed on for.

The four of them walked out of the police station, Dean and Sam in front with Lassiter and Juliet right behind.

"I can't believe you agreed to being tailed by the cops, Sammy," Dean growled, climbing into the driver's seat of the Impala and taking off, quickly followed by the two detectives.


	3. Chapter 3

Gus was having a pretty good day, if he thought about it. He got to avoid a terrible crime scene, keep his lunch safely in his stomach, and got to work a solid 5 hours with absolutely no interruption.

And it worried him to no end.

He glanced at his phone again, frowning when it showed no new messages or calls had been received. Checking the time, he realized he was about done with work, so he packed up and headed out of the office. Finally, he felt his phone buzz and quickly answered.

"Shawn?" he asked.

"No, it's me, Gus. Don't you have caller id?"

Gus sighed, a little disappointed. "Hey, Henry. I just haven't heard from Shawn all day and it's been great and all, but-"

"But that isn't like him and now you're worried for him," Henry finished with a sigh. "Yeah, same here, Gus. I know he doesn't like coming to our dinners, but he never blows one off without calling me and giving me some insane story about ninjas or pirates or something equally ridiculous."

Gus bit his tongue, about to argue the truth about the ferocity of ninjas and the adventurous life of a pirate when he realized which Spencer he was talking to. "You don't think he ran off again, do you?" Gus asked softly, not really believing it.

Henry shook his head on the other line. "No," he said finally, "I really don't this time Gus. He's got O'hara, now, and deep down, I know he loves helping out solving cases. He was born to be a detective, Gus. He just got a little rattled on the way there."

Gus nodded, knowing Henry was right. "Well, I'll go check the office, see if he's there," he said, getting into his car.

"I'll check his apartment and then meet you there," Henry said before hanging up and getting into his truck. With anyone else, being gone for half a day shouldn't even warrant a second thought. Shawn being gone for half a day? Different story. Kid didn't know when to shut up and leave well enough alone, he sure as hell wasn't going to just cut and run all of a sudden.

Gus got to the Psych office and began to look around. As he was searching, he heard a car pull in. 'Why, Mr. Spencer's really fast,' he thought. Then, he heard another louder car pull in. Gus furrowed his brow and looked out the window. Lassiter, Jules and two other men were walking toward the office.

"Hey, Lassie, Jules," Gus said, walking down the steps toward the detectives. "Who's this?"

Dean snickered behind Lassiter. "Lassie?"

Lassiter glared over his shoulder and then looked back at Gus. "Guster, we need to speak with Shawn," he said getting straight to the point. "You know where he is?"

Gus shrugged. "Your guess would be as good as mine right now," he said nervously. "I haven't seen Shawn for hours."

Sam looked at Dean, then back at Gus. "Well, it's only been a few hours. Maybe he was busy? Did you try his phone?"

Gus looked at the newcomer. "Well, duh. Of course I called him. He didn't pick up. And clearly you don't know Shawn because going half a day without him is unheard of. He always keeps in contact," he finished.

"Always craves attention's more like it," muttered Lassiter.

Gus looked at the brothers again. "I'm sorry, who are these guys again?"

"Criminals," Lassiter scoffed, folding his arms. Gus' eyes widened.

"They are not, Carlton. Gus, don't listen to him. These guys are just trying to help us out with these strange accidents that have been occurring all over town. Gus, meet Sam and Dean," Juliet said, introducing the men.

"Hey," he said, hesitantly shaking their hands.

"Hey," Dean said, shaking his hand firmly. "So, your friend Shawn. You say he's a psychic?" he said, searching Gus' face for a lie.

Gus trained his eyes on Dean's and nodded sharply. "Best around," he said without hesitation.

Dean cocked his head. "Alrighty, then let's search the place. He had to leave something behind," he finished, pushing past the rest of the group to head inside. Just as they were all going in, a truck pulled up and screeched to a halt.

"Henry," Gus called out. "Did you find him?"

"No," Henry said, almost breathlessly, "but I found this."

He thrust a piece of paper at Gus, but Lassiter snatched it away quickly. He held it out while everyone looked over his shoulder and read the scrawled out handwriting:

Got a lead. Went to the Jackson Co. to follow up. Meet me there.

Gus stepped away first. "The Jackson Co.?" he questioned, scratching his head. "That doesn't make any sense," he said, turning back to the rest of the group.

Henry nodded. "I know. It just seems…off."

"Devoid of emoticons," Lassiter mumbled, recalling Shawn's words. "It's not him," he said out loud.

Everyone went silent for a second, taking in those words.

"Then, who is it and where the hell is Shawn?" Juliet said softly, reigning in her anger.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, communicating volumes with their eyes. They silently began making their way back to the car, only to be stopped by Lassiter.

"Whoa, hey, where do you think you're going?" he demanded of them.

Dean turned to look over his shoulder. "We're goin' to that warehouse," he said gruffly, but calmly, "and we know you're comin' anyway, so why don't you lead the way?"

Lassiter stared, contemplating the man's words. Juliet made his decision for him by opening the passenger side door to his car and looking back at him. He sighed and headed for his car, not even scolding Gus or Henry when they got into Henry's truck to follow.

Before they headed out, Lassiter vaguely heard Henry's question to Gus.

"Who the hell are those guys?"


	4. Chapter 4

Dean was following the Crown Vic, silence filling the car. Sam broke it first.

"You know it's a trap, right?"

Dean sighed, deflating a little. "Yeah, no shit it's a trap. But we can't just leave this guy. He's a psychic and he means a lot to these people. I mean, what if he's like you or something, Sam? What if he got these powers from Yellow Eyes?"

Sam shook his head. "That was a while ago, Dean. I don't think there were any others but us. He wouldn't just let one go."

Dean nodded and then remained silent for a minute. "So, you think the kid's…?

Sam nodded solemnly. "You heard them. It wasn't him that wrote that note."

Dean rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Should we call Cas?"

Sam turned to look at his brother. "You think he'd answer?"

It was Dean's turn to shrug, although his expression got more sorrowful, making Sam regret asking the question. "Maybe," Dean muttered, "maybe not. I don't know, but it's worth a try."

He kept his eyes on the road, but looked up occasionally.

"Cas," he started, "man, we could really use your help on this one. I know you're all busy, fighting your war and everything, but we don't know how serious this could be. Could be nothing, but nevertheless…" he trailed off, flicking his eyes to the roof of his car. "Cas?"

Silence was all that met them as they drove down the darkened road.

Sam looked apologetically at his brother, knowing words would only make him angry right now.

They finally reached the warehouse, the small troupe assembling outside. As they made to walk in, Dean held up a hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, tigers. We gotta prepare first," he said, moving to the trunk of his car. Opening it, the others were shocked to see the near arsenal that was back there.

Lassiter stepped forward, prepared to chew them out, when Dean thrust a shotgun into his hands.

"Might come in handy," he said cryptically, leaving Carlton confused.

"I already have a gun," he protested, as Dean shoved past him with a duffle slung over his shoulder and one held out to Sam.

"Not one that'll work," Dean muttered as he led the way inside.

The others didn't have much time to think before they were jogging to catch up with the brothers, who seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

Dean pushed the double doors open and everyone filed inside behind him. They were about to begin looking around when someone walked out from behind the wall in the far corner.

"Shawn!" Juliet cried out, a smile spreading across her face. She was about to walk toward him when Sam grabbed her hand and pulled her back, putting himself in between Shawn and the rest of the group, sending a worried glance to Dean. Dean nodded and looked at Shawn.

"Yeah, we've been looking everywhere for you, man. Family's been worried sick," he said slowly as the man got closer. "But then again, you aren't Shawn, are you?"

As he said this Shawn stopped in front of him, head bowed and shoulders shaking softly with laughter. "And I thought you'd never figure it out," he said in a voice that wasn't his, looking up to reveal black eyes.

The others gasped, frozen where they stood.

"Sh-shawn? What's wrong with your eyes?" Gus asked warily.

Shawn cocked his head slightly, hands clasping behind his back. "Well," he said as if speaking to a child, "we've already established the fact that I am not, in fact, your "Shawn." And my eyes are perfectly fine, thank you very much," he said, smiling smugly, turning and walking slightly farther away.

"Get your hellish ass outta him," Dean growled, Colt ready just in case.

Shawn stopped and slowly turned around, smile falling from his face. "Now, Dean. There's no need for rudeness," he said, a more devilish smile curling on his face. "In fact, why don't we all sit," he raised his hand, "down," he brought his hand down, forcing the entire party to go crashing to the ground with a grunt of pain. "Oh, you won't be needing that," he said with a flick of his hand, sending the Colt skittering across the room.

Sam set his jaw, opening his mouth to begin the exorcism incantation. Shawn whipped his head toward him and grinned, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt.

"Son of a bitch," Dean whispered, recognizing the locking brand on Shawn's arm, anchoring the demon inside of him. Sam just shut his mouth, defeated.

"You see, boys," Shawn said, walking backwards, arms spread, "I came prepared. And more importantly, I came for you." He dropped his arms, soft demonic smile still on his face, black eyes gleaming off of the overhead light momentarily.

Lassiter had enough of being left in the dark. He wanted to know why he couldn't get up. He wanted to know what the hell was happening with Shawn. He wanted answers.

"Look, I don't know what the hell you're pulling, but this whole Mysterio thing is really getting old and I have better things to do," Lassiter said, completely confused and completely pissed off.

Suddenly, Shawn was directly in front of his face, shocking Lassiter into flinching back ever so slightly. Shawn looked at him for a second, contemplating the human's actions before answering.

"I…am absolutely insane. And it should scare you how absolutely comfortable I am with that fact," Shawn said in a low voice right near Lassiter's ear. He pulled back so that Lassiter was looking into his black eyes.

It was then that Shawn got a look at the rest of the room. He looked at the brothers with a smile. "Aw, did you boys bring me a snack? How thoughtful of you," he said, placing a hand over his chest in gratitude. His eyes locked onto Juliet.

"Well, doesn't she look good enough to eat?" he said, leaning down to stroke her cheek. She flinched away, frightened of whatever this was, not sure who or what was possessing her boyfriend. He pulled back, frowning slightly. He flicked his finger quickly, earning a gasp out of the blonde as a small cut appeared on her face.

"Hey!"

"Leave her alone!"

"Mother fucker!"

"Don't you touch her!"

The barrage of insults were yelled almost in unison before Shawn brought up his hand again, silencing them. He reached down and collected some of the blood from her cut on his finger and sticking it into his mouth. He moaned with pleasure, smile creeping across his face as he pulled the clean finger out of his mouth.

"Mmmm, oh wow. Now that. That is good eatin'," he said, pointing at Juliet and stepping back.

"But you see, what I really came here for was you two," he said pointing at Dean and Sam, "and this one," he said, pointing at himself with a smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

Dean and Sam looked questioningly at each other.

"Him? Why the hell do you need him?" Dean asked.

"And who are you anyway?" Sam added.

Shawn clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, to answer your second question first, I'm Damian, nice to meet you," he said with a smile. "Now, I know what you're gonna say, but let me tell you a couple things first. One, I am not the child I am so often portrayed as here. Two, I do NOT answer to my father in any way, so how about we don't even talk about him in the first place?"

Dean smirked a little. "Wait, you're Damian? Like pissy-little-spoiled-brat-son-of-Satan Damian? Wow, Sammy, and I thought we were in trouble."

Damian's face fell and he was inches away from Dean's face in less than a second.

"I've seen more than your puny mortal brain can even comprehend witnessing, boy, so I suggest you change your tone or I'll change it for you," he said menacingly. Dean just kept right on smiling, keeping the demon's attention on him.

The rest of the group, on the other hand, had noticed another man making his way toward them. Before they could utter a word, Sam looked at them out of the corner of his eye and mouthed, 'shh.' Keeping their mouths shut, they continued to watch this newcomer sneak up on the demon.

Damian was about to lash out at Dean, when the stare of the rest of the group caught his eye. He turned around slowly and started to laugh lowly to himself.

"Castiel," he said shaking his head, "why am I not surprised?"

Castiel planted his feet and caught a quick glance at Dean, who noted how weary and worn the angel looked. "Damian," he acknowledged.

Damian looked mock hurt. "What, that's it? No hug? No love for your nephew? Cas, that hurts," he said, trying to hold back a grin.

Castiel did not look amused. "Release these people, Damian. They mean nothing to you."

"Au contraire, my fine feathered friend," Damian said. "I was informed, well misinformed, that this meat suit was psychic and you know I can't pass up a prime opportunity like that," he began, slowly walking around Castiel. "Anyway, long story short, that was bullshit. He was no more psychic than you are a social butterfly." Cas narrowed his eyes, regretfully understanding the metaphor. "Anywho, I was just about to scram, when, get this…he expelled me. Me! He just pushed me right out of his body! Can you believe that?" he said with wonder. "Well, I couldn't, so I decided to enter him again."

"Kinky," Dean muttered, earning a glare from Damian.

"As soon as I was in, however, he pushed me out again! Tell me, Castiel. How many humans do you know that can just will a demon out of their body? Hmm? Because my mind is still blown!" he said excitedly. "So, in order to keep from being expelled, I locked myself in. Unfortunately, he kept taking back control of his body with me still inside. So, I did this," he said, lifting up his shirt to reveal a stab wound on his left side that seemed to be hastily cauterized. "Weakened the hell out of him, making it much easier for me to remain in control. As for the rest of the group here, well they're just collateral. If he should try to overpower me again, I'll kill every last one of them and make clothes out of their skin. Isn't that right Shawn?" he said, looking slightly to the side as if speaking to Shawn.

Castiel furrowed his brow. "But, why keep him if he is such a burden?" he asked.

Damian smiled broadly. "He astounds me, Castiel. Never have I met a human who can do what he does. Not only remain in control over a demon, but portray psychic tendencies when he has absolutely no psychic abilities at all." He paused for a moment, looking at his hands. "He's special, Cas. I don't know how, but I'm gonna find out. He's special. And now, he's mine."

"Not for long," Cas said in a gruff voice, taking a fighting stance.

Damian's eyes went wide as he smiled. "Oh are you gonna do that thing where you get all noble and righteous and put your clammy little hand on my head and send me back to the depths of Hell?" he said, clapping his hands mockingly. "Because I gotta say," he said, dropping his arms and his smile. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

Damian stepped back and spread his arms. The ground began to rumble as he lifted his head slightly and smiled. Cas backed up as the ground started to crack and spread open, revealing harsh white flames, engulfing Damian. He reappeared behind Cas and it began.

The Winchesters watched helplessly as Cas and Damian fought violently.

"Damn it, Sam, I don't like this," Dean said as the demon and angel fought.

Sam sighed. "I know, Dean, but unless you have some sort of demon control that can get us unstuck, then there isn't much we can do.

Juliet, Lassiter, Gus, and Henry, on the other hand, were gawking at their friend, their son, their boyfriend. They had gone completely silent and still when they heard what the demon said. Of course, he wasn't really psychic. Juliet and Lassiter always had their suspicions, but he brought amazing results. That was just common sense. But what did it mean by special?

Sam looked over at the other group, sympathy lacing his gaze. He looked at Dean with a puppy-dog face, as if to say, "What about them?" Dean could only shrug with a look that portrayed, "Nothing we can really do."

Their thoughts were interrupted by Castiel, who was thrown toward them. He crashed to the ground with a sickening crack. Groaning, he rolled back onto his feet. He looked at Sam, then Dean, giving them a sad look. He was torn away by the demon's grasp, sliding him further away.

"Oh, Cassy, we aren't getting anywhere fast," Damian said, wiping some blood from the side of his mouth."

Cas grounded himself. "I completely agree," he said, dropping his head.

Damian cocked his head, slight confusion crossing his features.

Just then, Cas began to glow. White light surrounded him as wind picked up.

Damian's eyes widened as he took a step back. "No," he said quietly. Cas' eyes shot open, eyes glowing blue.

"Shut your eyes," he said, just loud enough for Dean and Sam to hear.

Dean's eyes widened as he shouted, "Everyone shut your eyes and keep 'em closed, no matter what you hear!"

The group's eyes snapped closed, thinking it best not to question the request.

Cas' head fell back as a white smoky haze shot from the center of him through Damian, ripping the black smoke out of him, Shawn's body falling to the ground along with Castiel's vessel.


	6. Chapter 6

With their eyes shut, all the group could hear were the sounds of harsh winds and objects crashing. What they didn't know was that it was the black and white hazes that tore about the room like wildfire. The two smoky entities wrapped around themselves, creating a swirl of light and dark. Suddenly, they split apart from each other, whipped around and crashed into the two unconscious forms on the ground.

Hearing the sounds die down, Dean cautiously cracked an eye. Cas and Damian had begun to move. He scrubbed a hand across his face and paused. He could move. Jumping up, he nudged Sam, whose eyes shot open and he also rose to his feet. They helped the rest of the group and then ran over to Cas.

"Cas!" Dean yelled as he slid next to his friend. Cas' eyes blinked open slowly as he tried to pull himself up. Dean steadied him with his hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye.

"Cas, you ok, man?" he asked, worried.

Cas nodded slowly, staring at Dean wide-eyed.

Dean furrowed his brow, but didn't get to ask a question because Damian had begun to stir.

Sam grabbed the Colt and leveled it at Damian, motioning to the rest of the group to get behind him. Damian pushed himself to his hands and knees as the group hurried behind Sam, Dean, and Cas. Dean helped Cas all the way to his feet as he swayed slightly.

"You're finished, Damian," Sam said seething, as Dean grabbed Ruby's knife and moved toward them.

Damian slowly brought his head up, but instead of being met with a snarky smirk and black eyes, the boys saw a worried expression and Shawn's eyes. He cocked his head to the side and looked past the boys at Castiel, whose furrowed brow evened out and a slow smile began to cross his face.

As soon as he looked past them, Dean turned around to see the change in Cas' face. He whipped back around to Shawn and knelt in front of him.

"…Cas?" he asked hesitantly. Cas turned his head and looked at him through Shawn's eyes.

"Damn," Damian said from Cas' body, "thought I'd be able to drag that out longer." He raised his arms and threw the surrounding group away from him, sending them flying in all directions.

"No!" Dean shouted, turning to make his way toward Damian, only to be stopped by Cas' hand on his arm. He looked at him and saw him struggling to stand, so he pulled him up, keeping his hand under his elbow for support.

Damian flashed Cas' eyes black and smiled.

"You can barely stand, moron. What could you possibly do?" he said skeptically.

Cas glared through Shawn's eyes.

"You aren't locked into that body," he said, cocking an eyebrow and letting his lip quirk into the barest of smiles.

Damian's smile dropped immediately and he stepped back as Cas held out a hand and began the exorcism, ripping Damian from his vessel and sending him back into Hell.

Cas dropped his hand and sank to his knees, wiped from the whole ordeal. Dean went down with him, trying to slow his descent. He looked at Cas with a concerned expression, trying to figure out what Cas needed. He then looked over at Jimmy, unconscious ahead of them.

"You need to get back in him?" he asked indicating to Jimmy's body.

Cas just nodded slowly, closing his eyes.

Dean gently let go of his arm and stood up. He went over to Jimmy and lifted him up swiftly. Surprised by how light he was, he made his way back to Cas quickly. He laid the body in front of Cas, who leaned forward and laid a hand on the side of Jimmy's face. Light emitted from him as Cas transferred from one body to the other. Shawn fell to his side as soon as Cas left him.

"Shawn!" came a shout from the others, who were still trying to recuperate from being tossed so suddenly. Juliet fell next to Shawn first, closely followed by Gus and Henry and finally Lassiter.

"Shawn, come on wake up," Juliet was saying as she tapped his face gently. Dean helped Cas sit up, who was looking intently at Shawn.

"You ok?" Dean asked quietly. Cas nodded, shutting his eyes for a second. "Fine," he said softly. Dean narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing him. He followed Cas' stare and looked between him and Shawn.

"Do you know what his deal is? I mean, why's he so special?" Dean asked.

Cas looked at Dean, and then the rest of the group, who were looking at him with expectant eyes.

"When I overtook him, I sensed this…energy. An energy that normally only an angel can exude," he said slowly, looking back at Dean and Sam, who had knelt next to his brother.

"An angel?" Lassiter scoffed. "First, we had Damian, the actual son of Satan, and now you're saying Shawn, here, is an angel? God, I need to wake up," he said, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

Cas furrowed his brow. "I can assure you you're awake."

Dean rolled his eyes, but ignored Cas' statement. "So, what, the kid's an angel?" he said shrugging.

Cas shook his head. "No, an angel cannot be possessed. He retains angelic abilities, although I don't know how. Normally, an angel can't give a human any of their powers, unless they specifically and directly mean to," he explained. "A transference would need to occur. It's a long, drawn out process that takes years to finish. And knowing my brothers, none of them would be that patient or generous," he finished with a shake of his head.

"Lucky I got one of the cooler ones, then," Shawn mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"Shawn!" Juliet and Gus said in unison.

"Shawn, son, how are you doing? Are you ok? Can you move? How many fingers am I holding up?" Henry said, firing off questions rapid-fire.

Shawn winced, holding his hand up. "Whoa, easy, Dad. I'm fine. Except for the fatal wound in my side, just peachy keen. Yeah, I can move, I just don't want to, and three," he said, sighing in exhaustion.

Henry rubbed his head and sat back on his heels. "Jesus, kid, you scared the hell out of us."

"Yeah, join the club," Shawn said, moving to get up.

"Hey, you stay right their and wait for the ambulance, buddy," Juliet said, placing her hand on his arm.

He looked up at her with a puppy dog expression on his face. "But Jules, I'm fine. Look," he said as he sat up and smiled at her. His eyes went hazy for a second as the room went white, but just before he fell back, Juliet grabbed his shoulders and laid him down.

"Stubborn ass," she muttered, smiling as she brushed the side of his face with her fingers.

Cas looked at Dean and Sam as the others tended to Shawn.

"I apologize for being late," he said softly, still breathing a little too heavily and feeling weaker than he should.

Dean shook his head. "You were here, that's what matters," he said, patting Cas lightly on the shoulder. He then registered to Cas' breathing and falling eyes. "Hey, you look wiped. Come on, let's get you outta here," he said, putting Cas' arm around his shoulder and helping him up.

Lassiter stood up with them. "Look, I know you did what you had to and whatever, and we thank you, we really do, but you still impersonated a federal officer and I can't just let you leave," he said, looking slightly apologetic.

Dean sighed mockingly and looked sideways at Cas, smirking a little. Cas looked back at him and nodded almost imperceptibly. And just like that, the three men were gone, vanishing into thin air.

Lassiter blinked and stepped back slightly. "Damn it," he muttered, looking around.


	7. Chapter 7

Shawn gasped as he woke and immediately slammed his eyes shut again. The light was overpowering and wherever he was it was way too white.

"If this is Heaven, I want a refund," he mumbled.

"If this was Heaven, I'd be on a boat in the middle of the ocean with some beers and some sizable fish waiting to be cooked to perfection," said a gruff voice beside him.

Shawn huffed a tired laugh. "Wow, your Heaven sucks. Remind me to never visit you up there, Dad."

Henry cracked a smile before leaning forward and placing the back of his hand on his son's forehead.

"Aw, man, Dad. Personal space," Shawn whined, twisting away slightly.

"Deal with it," Henry said, sitting back. "Fever's gone down, you should be fine."

"Don't sound so happy. You might pull something," Shawn muttered.

Henry frowned. "That's not it, Shawn. You should be dead. What you went through, how much you were hurt…" he trailed off, glancing at the ceiling before looking at Shawn. "I just…" he stopped again, looking off to the side.

Shawn watched with curiosity as his father stammered. "What, Dad?" he asked softly, wanting, no, needing him to finish.

Henry looked directly at him. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you, son," he said shaking his head. "I really just couldn't fathom it. Couldn't wrap my head around it as everyone said it was touch and go and to expect the worse. But I never did. Because I literally could not expect it. I could not…" he paused again, eyes glistening, but never shedding a tear, not one. "I could not live without you, son," he said softer.

Shawn's eyes were wide at this point, not because of what his father was saying, but the fact that he was saying it at all. "Dad," he said, the word breaking as his voice cracked. He had absolutely no idea what to say. Usually, he'd make a joke, lighten the situation. But this? It must have taken so much out of his father to be able to say those words. So, he slowly placed his hand on top of his father's where it laid on his bed.

"Still here," he said softly.

Henry just stared at the hand on his for a moment, taking in his son's words. "Still here," he repeated with a soft smile. His smile fell quickly though. He looked at his son.

"But how? How the hell aren't you dead? You said, no, that thing said you were special and then that awkward guy in the trench said something about you being all angelic or some crap," he said, falling back out of caring father mode into logic mode.

Shawn sighed and withdrew his hand to rub his face. "Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that I'm not dead _because_ of the whole angelic thing," he said, far too nonchalantly.

Henry furrowed his brow. "That didn't explain anything. Start talking, Shawn. What did you do?"

Shawn held up his hands. "Whoa! What makes you think this is my fault?" he said defensively.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Oh please, Shawn. You always jump into things and don't think about the consequences."

Shawn glared at his father. "Yeah, because if I did constantly think about every little thing that could go wrong, I wouldn't be me! I'd be an over-thinking cop who wants to keep his kid holed-up for the rest of his life because he's too afraid to let him go!"

They both stayed silent for a long moment, eyes battling for dominance in their glares. Henry's softened slightly as he broke the contact.

"What happened?" he asked, softer, but a little clipped.

Shawn let go of his glare, looking at his hands. "Well, when I was in Georgia, around nine years ago, I started hitting the casinos to get some money."

Henry huffed and cocked an eyebrow.

"Hey, you wanted to hear the story and you know how good I am at poker," Shawn said, looking at his father to doubt his skills.

His father couldn't deny his son's gift and sighed. "Go on."

Shawn smirked triumphantly. "Anyway, I was racking up at black jack and this guy comes over, this guy that was watching me all night. I thought he was one of the casino managers," he said, shrugging.

"But he wasn't," Henry finished.

"No, he most certainly was not," Shawn breathed out, finding himself a little winded from talking so much.

Henry placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder, eyes questioning if he should call a nurse, with Shawn responding with a shake of his hand. After he caught his breath a little, Shawn tried to reposition himself, pulling on his wound a little. He winced as he waved off his father yet again.

"He asked me if I would play a game with him," Shawn continued, voice strained. He grinned a bit. "Naturally, I said please leave me be, creepy stalker. Funny thing is, he just laughed and then grabbed my shoulder and we were somewhere else. Another casino. This one darker, a lot more reds, these weird black curtains with a gold embroidering," Shawn said, eyes shut in thought. He opened his eyes and looked at his dad. "I didn't know how I got there. Dad, I remember everything that happens to me, delirious, drunk, hell even blind I can remember what happened." He looked at his father with a resigned expression. "I had absolutely no idea how I got to that other casino."

Henry froze. He knew his son, and he knew his gift. He knew that no matter what state he was in, Shawn could remember the number of hairs on the head of a doll in the back of a closet if he had to.

"Ok," he said after a pause, "so this guy. Who was he?"

Shawn sighed, shaking his head.

"He just kept telling me we were going to play and not to worry about names. Didn't really comfort me any, so I took to calling him Jeff. He was about my height, blonde hair, steely blue eyes, and he was wearing a really snazzy black suit. Could have been such a cool guy, if he wasn't creepy as hell. Anyway, when I asked what game we were playing so I could get the hell out of there, he just smiled like a kid in a candy shop and told me it's nothing I've ever played before."


	8. Chapter 8

Shawn stopped his explanation, rubbing a hand over his face, when the door opened. Gus and Juliet walked in, followed by a grumbling Lassiter. A smile spread over Shawn's face.

"Shawn! You're awake!" Gus said, excitedly, moving to sit next to his friend. Juliet smiled and moved to his other side, sliding a hand into his. He squeezed it lightly before looking back at Gus.

"'Course I am, buddy," he said with a tired voice, "and you all just made it for story time."

He went on to tell them exactly what he had told his father not minutes ago. Henry had stood up and was pacing slightly, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. Shawn paused again at the same spot as last time, prompting Gus to speak up.

"So, what was the game?"

Shawn looked at him, a little fear in his eyes.

"I…I…God it was so weird," he said, closing his eyes again. Gus and Juliet looked at each other with confused glances.

"What, Shawn?" Juliet asked.

Shawn opened his eyes again and sighed.

"He asked me to perform a psychic vision," he said a little guiltily. Juliet frowned, remembering what the demon had said about Shawn being a phony. Shawn caught her frown and winced.

"Yeah, I know, I'm not actually psychic and I'm totally sorry about that, by the way," he rushed out, before continuing, "but I didn't think this guy knew that, so I said ok and went to tell him about himself. He just smiled this shit-eating grin and said he didn't want a deduction. He wanted an actual psychic vision. I didn't really know what to say, usually people are floored by my talents," he said shrugging as everyone groaned slightly.

"But anyway, he said that wasn't enough and that I needed to come with him. Obviously, I replied with dude, I don't swing that way and even if I did, you're super creepy, but he did that whole touch and blink and disappear and reappear thingy and we were somewhere else completely. He didn't tell me where, he wanted me to figure it out. I figured it out about 45 seconds later," he said pausing.

Everyone was leaned in, waiting for the answer. When none came, Lassiter sighed angrily.

"Well, where the hell were you?" he asked impatiently.

Shawn looked up confused as he replied, "Hawaii."

The room went silent.

"Wait, what?" Henry asked, clearly not expecting that answer.

"Yeah, what?" Gus tacked on eloquently.

"I was in Georgia and then I was in Hawaii about half a second later," he said slowly. "I thought for a second that I was crazy, but looking around, we were definitely in Hawaii." He stopped for a second, taking a few breaths. "Well, he didn't really expect me to get it that quickly, judging by the look on his face, so he grabbed my arm and we blinked somewhere else."

Again, he paused, and again Lassiter impatiently asked him where he was this time.

Shawn just slowly smiled and replied, "Bethlehem."

Gus burst out laughing.

"Bethlehem? You're joking. You've got to be joking," he said, not believing it.

Shawn shrugged.

"What, that's where we went next," he said defensively.

Juliet spoke up at this.

"Shawn, why would this guy bring you to Hawaii and then to Bethlehem. It doesn't make any sense," she said shaking her head.

Shawn scoffed.

"Uh, yeah, you think I don't know that this all sounds like a page out of Dr. Crazy's book of insanity? Look, I went to Hawaii and then to Bethlehem and then to Norway and then to Amsterdam and then to Australia and then to—"

"Whoa, whoa, Shawn," Henry said, stopping his rant, "you mean to say that you were yanked all over the world by this guy?"

Shawn nodded.

"And everywhere we went, I figured out where we were in less than a minute," he said with a smile. "Really started pissing the guy off, so he started asking me questions about the locals, who was who in the tribes, what some of their hobbies were, why some of them looked the way they did, things normal people wouldn't know at basically a first glance." Shawn paused and smiled. "But then again, I'm not really normal, am I?"

Gus looked at Shawn confused.

"Well, no you are the farthest from normal I've ever seen, but it doesn't explain how you were able to do all this," he said, shaking his head.

Shawn shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm gifted," he replied with a cheeky grin. It fell a bit as he continued. "But then, he said enough was enough and that if I got the next place, he'd give me something amazing, something no mortal could even fathom having, his words, not mine," he said as a side note. "But if I lost, I had to give him something very dear to me, something irreplaceable. I didn't really have a choice when he yanked me to where we went next." His brow furrowed as he rubbed his forehead a bit, contemplating his next choice in words.

Juliet held onto his hand and looked him in the eyes.

"Where did you go next, Shawn?"

He looked at her and smiled.

"Heaven."


	9. Chapter 9

"Bullshit," his father said immediately.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, because everything that's happened up 'til now has made complete sense," he said with a huff.

Henry conceded to that point, but got back to the point at hand.

"So, you lost the game," he guessed.

Shawn's smile just grew.

Gus looked at him with wide eyes.

"Wait, what? You're kidding. Shawn, you're kidding, right? You couldn't have possibly known you were in Heaven!"

Shawn looked offended. "And why not? I'm psychic!"

Lassiter furrowed his brow. "No, you're not, Spencer. We just figured that out."

"Oh yeah, forgot about that," he said flippantly, "But I am special."

Henry jumped in. "You have a photographic memory, Shawn, you aren't all-knowing. How in the hell could you have possibly known you were in Heaven?"

Shawn looked a bit sheepish. "Well, when we got there, Heaven wasn't all fluffy clouds and naked babies with wings," he said, "It's targeted specifically towards you. Everyone has his or her own personal Heaven. So, when we got there, I was at this little yellow house. Nothing special, just a little yellow house with a walkway in front of it with pineapple footlights on the sides." He paused for a minute smiling. "I walked into the house and into the arms of my beautiful wife as our four kids, two boys and two girls, ran up to us and into our arms." He glanced at Juliet with a little smile. "So, I just kind of assumed it had to be Heaven. Couldn't really have been anything else."

Gus snickered. "Wow, Shawn, never took you for mushy gushy."

Shawn's brow furrowed. "I'm not mushy gushy. You're mushy gushy," he said petulantly. He looked back at Juliet and she smiled, discreetly pointing a finger at herself and mouthing the question, 'Me?' Shawn's grin grew and he gave her a wink.

Lassiter sighed. "Ok, now that we're done making goo-goo eyes at each other and being all lovely dovey, you wanna continue the story, Spencer?" He crossed his arms waiting for an answer.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Lassie," Shawn said lightheartedly. "Well, once I said that, the dude got all, "How could you have possibly known that?" Shawn mocked in a bad British accent. Everyone looked a bit confused, but shrugged it off as he continued. "And I was all, 'cause I'm that awesome, now where's my prize?'" Shawn raised his hands and cocked his eyebrow. "And now I'm an angel," he said dramatically.

"Wrong."

Everyone whipped around to see a blonde man in a black suit leaning against the opposite wall of the hospital room.

"Who the hell are you?" Lassiter demanded, hand on his Glock.

Shawn smiled widely. "Hey, buddy! How's it going?"

Everyone looked at Shawn, and then slowly turned to look at the man again, eyes wide.

"Look at their little minds putting the pieces together. Yes. It's me. The one who basically saved your little Shawn's life, here? No need to thank me."

Gus spoke up first. "Are you a-an angel?" he asked hesitantly, the question feeling strange on his tongue.

The man smiled and nodded once, disappearing in a flutter and reappearing right next to Shawn. Everyone snapped their heads around to follow him.

"And it's Balthazar," he said pointedly at Shawn, "not 'dude.'"

Shawn raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, you were the one playing Mysterio," he said in his defense. Then, he blinked. "Wait. What did you mean by wrong?"

Balthazar smirked. "You are not an angel, love. Gifted, I'll give you that, but you can't just become an angel. I simply…embedded you with some of my Grace," he finished quickly.

Henry shook his head. "Now, what the hell does that mean? And who gave you the right to drag my son across the world and back—"

Balthazar held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, Dad. I didn't do anything without permission."

Everyone looked at Shawn, who fidgeted a bit.

"Ok, so I may have lied a bit about him taking me…" he mumbled.

"And?" Balthazar prompted.

Shawn sighed. "And about who came up with the rules of the game and the wages, but I swear everything else happened just the way I said," he reasoned.

Balthazar shook his head. "I _offered_ to let him play a game and he said sure. Everything after that was in his control. He could have asked to come back at any point."

Shawn interrupted him. "Whoa, what about that whole soul thing?" he retorted angrily.

Juliet fixed a glare on Balthazar. "What whole soul thing?"

Balthazar's grin grew. "Oh, yeah. I may have made a little wager with his soul, but he won anyway. No harm, no foul. Well, except for the fact that he's got some of my Grace," he grumbled at the end.

"You keep saying that. Grace. What does that mean?" Henry asked.

Balthazar sighed. "An angel's Grace is basically their power source, like the battery in a car. Giving some to Shawn was like putting a Ferrari engine into a jalopy," he said smirking at Shawn.

Shawn huffed. "I'm not a jalopy. You're a jalopy," he mumbled.

Balthazar smiled at the group. "He's going to be fine. You're all fine. I see this as a win-win," he said, getting ready to leave.

"Wait!" Gus said, "That's it? You're just going?"

Balthazar looked to the side, seemingly to think. Then, he said, "Yep," gave them a bright smile, winked at Shawn, and disappeared.

Henry sighed and threw his arms up. Juliet blinked, as if the angel would just pop up again. Gus looked confused, and Lassiter looked even more pissed off, if it was possible. Shawn just sat back, taking a second to breathe and realizing how very tired he was. Henry saw his son's eyelids start to fall shut and he gave meaningful glares to everyone in the room, who understood and said their goodbyes. Lassiter grumbled a goodbye and whipped out his notebook, briskly walking out of the room. Gus said his goodbyes and gave Shawn a fist bump and a smile. He turned to leave, but turned back and gave Shawn a quick hug. Shawn just smiled and returned it, before Gus got up and actually left. Juliet held Shawn's hand for a moment, before leaning in and giving him a soft, but firm kiss. Leaning her forehead on his, she smiled and whispered something to him, causing him to light up like a firework, grin from ear to ear. She kissed him again quickly, and then nodded at Henry and left. Henry watched everyone go, arms crossed, standing next to Shawn's bed. Once they were gone, he looked at Shawn for a minute.

"You scared the hell out of me, son," he said, almost as a fact.

"I know," Shawn said softly.

"…I'm glad you're ok," Henry said after a little pause.

"I know," Shawn repeated.

Henry cracked a smile at that. "Go to sleep, Shawn. We'll see you tomorrow."

"I know," Shawn mumbled again, as he fell asleep.

Henry brushed his son's forehead one last time before leaving. At the door, he stopped and turned his head back a little. "I love you, son," he whispered before leaving a sleeping Shawn behind in the hospital room.

Once the door closed, Shawn 's mouth quirked into a smile.

"I know," he repeated with more conviction, before falling asleep.


End file.
